


Road Trip Adventures

by LeeMorrigan



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Did I mention the fluff, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Road Trip, The last few paragraphs are so fluffy, Tooth Rotting Fluff, Undercover Work, Vacation, fluffy as a kitten, gooey fluff, goofy photoshoots, goofy vacation photos, lots of fluff, marriage proposals, nightmares after being shot, relationship stresses, road trip romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26984761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeeMorrigan/pseuds/LeeMorrigan
Summary: Marcus Pike is recovering from being shot while on an undercover assignment. Luckily for him, his girlfriend of nearly a year has decided the perfect way to keep him from overdoing it or going into work, is to kidnap him for a roadtrip down south and back to DC. Mostly a fluffly fanfic where Pike actually takes time to let the girl really fall for him instead of getting caught up in a whirlwind romance.
Relationships: Marcus Pike/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Road Trip Adventures

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't actually watched THE MENTALIST in years but I always thought they did Pike dirty with how things went down between he and Teresa. I'm not sure how canon-compliant this is, but I tried to avoid villainizing Teresa and to just give Pike a nice, romantic story that has a happier conclusion for him. Also, with all that's going on in the world right now, I just wanted to throw some fluff out into the universe.
> 
> Triggers: Marcus has a nightmare where his girlfriend is being threatened instead of the teenagers he got shot protecting, mentions the fears of a phone call being the one to say Marcus had been killed in the line of duty, fears of messing up their relationship, ghosts of past relationships, and mentions stitches/overnight stays in the hospital.
> 
> Notes: The song in the car is Evan & Jaron's CRAZY FOR THIS GIRL, the movies mentioned are the 1935 film CAPTAIN BLOOD and the 1998 film PRACTICAL MAGIC.

Marcus Pike watched as his girlfriend of nearly a year, put the final bag into the back of her Ford Sport Trac, for their week-long roadtrip. They had been planning to take one right before he got called in for the assignment that landed him in undercover work for just shy of three months and currently sporting a sling to keep him from tearing his stitches in his right arm and shoulder. He had helped as much as his girlfriend allowed, which wasn’t much.

He hadn’t been able to believe his luck, when he woke up in the hospital, and she had been there. His ex-wife couldn’t even handle it when he got a migraine. To have someone stick with him, even when he had barely been able to contact them for weeks, when he had spent the past day thinking he might not live to see them again, was new for Marcus. New, and good.

“Are you sure there’s nothing else I can help you with?”

Grace grinned up at him as she closed the hard top on her small truck bed, locking it into the tailgate.

“Nope. Not until we’re on the road. I pilot, you navigate.”

“I wish you’d let me help more.”

“When they take out your stitches, I’ll let you clean the apartment top to bottom, how about that?”, she said as she leaned in close, bumping the tip of her nose against his.

“Ha, ha. You’re a real comodian.”

She shook her head.

“The term you’re looking for is Comedianne, dear.”

“There’s a name for unfunny comedians?”

“There’s a name for female comedians of immense talent. Come on, you’ve got shotgun.”

Marcus grinned, moving to get her door for her with his left hand, making sure to keep eye contact. She just shook her head, trying to hide the beginnings of a smile as she slid in, making a point to ignore his grin. She had admitted once, when sick with a fever and high on cold medicine, that she thought his dimple and his squinty-eyes when he smiled, were irresistible.

As soon as he was in and buckled, she pulled out and into traffic. Before they met, Grace Connolly had been a limo driver. She knew all the streets in DC like the back of her hand. Originally from a small town in West Virginia, she had determined she would make a living as an artist. Several art classes, tons of part-time jobs, and a few years of living hand to mouth later, she was an up-and-coming sculptor and painter. She still prided herself in her skills for driving and knowledge of the best holes in the wall eateries, though.

“Won’t be able to use the radio till we get out of town, throw in a CD if you want.”, she commented as she came to a four-way stop.

“Sure. What are you in the mood for? Jazz, country, maybe that new soundtrack I noticed you tucking into your bag?”

He saw the edge of her smile as she was turning to check her left.

“Sure. I can always go for listening to Hugh Jackman belting one out.”

Marcus chuckled to himself, thinking of when he talked her into going to a musical with him after he won tickets in a silent auction. He hadn’t actually expected to win with his low bid, and that’s when he learned how rare it was for there to be a musical his artist girlfriend actually enjoyed. Grace could name about six or seven musicals, movies or shows, that she liked.

It took them a while to get out of town, being that it was nearly quitting time for a lot of the city. However, soon enough they were out on the open road, heading south. The idea was to trace the coast, taking in the beaches, and perhaps enjoying some on the water over the course of their vacation. Being that it was October, Marcus didn’t figure on much swimming.

Thanks to the three months he had spent undercover, Marcus had hardly seen Grace. He called her once a week, from a burn phone, to talk a short time. Just enough to let her know he was alive and functioning. She always asked if he had eaten and if he was coming home soon. It had been the highlight of each week. Then, four days ago, he had been shot.

Grace had gotten the call at 2:30AM, from Marcus’s handler, letting her know that Marcus was in surgery and would need a ride home in a few hours when he was discharged. Grace said she wanted to throttle the man for his unfeeling, gruff manner in discussing Marcus’s being shot. When Marcus woke up in the hospital, Grace had been sitting by his bed, smiling at him despite the dark circles under her eyes and the worry in those dark irises.

Since then, she had brought him home, helped him shave, tied his tie for him when he had to go in to talk to the shooting investigators, and driven him in to see the doctors again. Never a complaint, not even when he woke up that first night in pain, as he had moved the wrong way in his sleep. She had helped him sit up, gotten his medicine, and then sat with him, rubbing his back, and whispering words of assurance until he was able to sleep again.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get to do this when we planned.”, he said quietly as Grace turned right to exit the street they had been on.

“Marcus, you’ve really gotta stop apologizing. Besides, it gave us something to do, for fun, while you’re convalescing.”

“I know, I know. Still though, you’d probably have more fun if you weren’t worrying about my stitches.”

She spared him a glance.

“Cause you never worry about my allergies when we go out, or even when we go grocery shopping.”

“That’s different.”

“Yeah, your stitches will get taken out in a bit and a couple weeks later, it’ll just be a couple scars you’ll only think about when someone mentions them. My allergies are for life.”

She reached, giving his left hand a squeeze.

“Just sit back, relax, enjoy, and stop thinking so much.”

Honestly, Marcus felt guilty over the whole mess. First, he had to mostly ignore her for months, then she gets the worst kind of phone call, and had been playing nursemaid since then. In fact, the only reason they had been able to take this road trip was because he was forced to take the next 14 days off after the shooting.

He felt another squeeze of his hand.

“I thought I said to stop thinking so much.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I could get used to the sound of that.”, she teased with a wink in his direction.

Marcus watched the sun shining through the clouds, listening to REWRITE THE STARS being hummed along to by Grace, and settling into the comfortable seat of the car, Marcus felt the pull of sleep. Grace wouldn’t need him to navigate for a while and he knew she would not mind if he caught up on his sleep. Between the pain of his arm and adjusting to a normal schedule after three months of vampiric-hours, he was a bit jet-lagged.

~*~*~*~

Grace looked over to ask Marcus if he minded her switching back over to the regular radio to find him sleeping. His head was tilted back over the shoulder of the seat, his nose almost against the window, hair falling in loose waves, a little light stubble beginning to form on his chin and upper lip, his neck exposed to the sun coming through her window. He was sound asleep. She almost hated to have to drive instead of admiring the view.

Once they had come to a long light, she sneaked out her phone from her thigh pocket on her cargo pants and quickly snapped a picture. He looked so peaceful. Sliding her phone back, she turned her face back to the light about twenty cars ahead.

For weeks, he had been working a dangerous assignment that required him to go undercover. He was often up all night, dealing with all sorts of criminals and cutthroats, and trying to stay one step ahead of all of them. He was only able to make one phone call a week, from a little burn phone, to talk to someone from his real life. Grace had been knocked back when he gave her the number he would be calling from so she would know it was him, then warning her that he would not call her by name and that she could not call him by his, just in case he was recorded or overheard. Since he had come back, Grace had found herself using his name near-constantly, only rarely slipping an endearment.

She let Marcus sleep, knowing he needed to catch up and to recalibrate after his time undercover. Marcus’s partner mentioned how often undercover assignments broke up relationships. Grace was in love with Marcus and scared that phone call would be news of his death, so she understood how that could bust up a relationship. In her case, she loved Marcus too much to cut him loose like that.

11 weeks of 4AM conversations that were almost in code and jumping at every phone call that came outside of a banker’s hours had done nothing good for Grace’s nerves. Then sitting for a couple hours in that uncomfortable chair by his bedside, waiting for him to wake, all she could think was how lucky they had been. Him, lucky to be alive. Her, lucky to get him back.

Soon, they were on the highway and headed down towards the line of beaches they would be enjoying views of at every stop. Grace couldn’t wait. She had packed their swimming gear knowing that while Marcus wasn’t going to be swimming laps any time soon, he might at least be able to walk on the beaches and possibly enjoy a hot tub in one of the various hotels. He wouldn’t be able to put his shoulder and upper arm in, but he might be able to sit carefully, allowing the heat to work on the muscles of his lower back that so often bothered him when he was tense or tired.

There was also the fact that it was October 6th, so it was cool enough that swimming in the ocean was probably not something they could do much of. Grace didn’t mind the cold, though she was aware Marcus was still getting acclimated from the West Coast and his time in Texas, to his new home, on the East Coast.

“Where are we?”, came a drowsy voice.

“We haven’t left Virginia yet.”

Glancing over, she saw as Marcus wiped a hand over his face, trying to rouse himself fully.

“There’s some water in the footwell and I’ve got Advil in the consol.”

“You think of everything.”, he said warmly with a smile, as he reached back carefully for a bottle of the water.

She felt the slight roughness of his stubble as he pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. Grace smiled. This was the Marcus Pike she had so quickly fallen head over heels for.

“My mom used to take us all on road trips, every summer. I learned from the best.”

“One mom and four kids in a car. I feel like we should have her knighted or sainted.”

“Well, my brothers’ mom didn’t always let them come, so half the time it was just the two of us.”

Marcus washed down his Advils with half the contents of his water bottle.

“Okay, this could just be the half-asleep brain talking, but why wouldn’t she let your mom take the boys? My mom would have loved to dump us with a teacher, for a few days, every summer.”

Grace shrugged as she watched for her turn at the stop.

“Things were always complicated between their mom and my mom. My mom was wife number 3, then ex-wife number 3, younger, with a cushier job, and only one kid to look after. I think sometimes she resented that my mom could afford to take the four kids places, in her nice van, and eat out with the four of us. Plus, she and our shared dad were always fighting while my mom mostly refused to fight with him, she had the custody agreement and otherwise said they were divorced so aside from my graduations, wedding, and such, she never needed to speak with or interact with him ever again.”

Marcus could understand that.

“Some of the agents I’ve worked with, have had some complicated relationships among ex-spouses and current partners, as well as between the kids from the so-called Starter Marriages and the current wife, and the kids they had with the new women. Some are good at the juggle, others are… terrible.”

“I can imagine.”

“Alright, so where is the first stop?”

“What, gotta pee already?”

Marcus chuckled.

“No, but I wouldn’t mind a little walk.”

“Next stop is twenty or so miles down, so it won’t take long. Plus, it’s the state line so there’s a little museum.”

He smiled a little wider. It was good to have someone to share his nerdy love of museums with. Marcus had always enjoyed art museums even before he was handling art-thefts at the Bureau. Grace tended more towards history museums, but she didn’t lack enthusiasm about art ones nor did he lack interest in her history museums.

As much as he wanted to stay awake, it was not working so well. The little bit of banter had put him in a good mood and the sunshine was making him warm in his seat. Soon, he felt himself slipping off to sleep despite the pain in his shoulder.

He was back in the alley, the other agents were en route, his target was waving a gun at three kids who had been working for a local crime boss and unlucky enough to get stuck in the alley with the boss when said boss knew he was cornered. Only this time, instead of having his gun in his hand as he faced his target, and the guy scaring the kids, the target was holding a gun to Grace’s head and Marcus’s hands were empty. He had frozen.

“RUN!”, he shouted to Grace.

“RUN! RUN!”

He felt a hand on his shoulder and he moved to throw them off. He had to get to Grace! He had to stop this!

“Marcus? Marcus! Marcus, it’s me. Marcus, it’s Grace.”

He blinked several times, the alley and guns fading to reveal the interior of a little truck and Grace’s orange plaid shirt. He looked up, still half-convinced she was in danger, to see Grace’s concerned face. He dark gray eyes were worried as she repeated his name.

“Are you alright?”, Marcus asked.

“I think I should be asking you that question.”

He took a mental inventory, then nodded.

“I’m good.”

Grace did not appear sure.

“The car’s stopped?”

She nodded in the affirmative.

“We’re at that rest stop. Took a little extra time cause we had to wait for a stopped car to get towed out of the way. I didn’t wake you cause at that point you seemed to be pretty peaceful.”

“Sorry.”

“Why? I didn’t mind you’re sleeping. You’re kind of cute.”, she tried to tease even with her worried expression.

Marcus was blown away, again, by this woman.

“Come on. Let’s go inside, use the facilities, stretch our legs, check out the museum, maybe get a magnet or something to say we’ve been here.”

“Okay.”

They got out of the car and Marcus almost instantly felt Grace’s fingers slotting between his own to loosely hold them, anchoring him to the Here and Now. He thought about the warmth of her hand, the child in the breeze, the solid concrete blocks under his feet, and the light pop music playing on someone’s radio in the parking lot.

Grace shook her head with slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as Marcus moved to get the door for her. She had mentioned a couple times that she could get her own doors, though when Marcus explained it wasn’t chauvinism it was just a way he knew to show he cared. It was something simple to let her know he wanted her to feel special, cherished.

When he followed her in, he was surprised. It had a huge, vaulted ceiling with flags hanging from it, along with cardinals, little butterflies, and dogwoods. The bathrooms were on either side of a little alcove where a giant map of the state covered one wall and racks of brochures filled the available wall space. To the far-right, a room with one whole wall of glass offered Tshirts, magnets, knickknacks, and other tourist gear, and to the far-left was the small museum that even included a 20 minute movie about the history of North Carolina.

“Bathrooms, browsing, then gawking at the museum?”

Marcus concurred.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

A few minutes later, Marcus was standing in front of a little photo-op he hadn’t noticed till he was coming out of the bathroom and thusly facing the opposite direction. When Grace came out of the ladies’ room, he waved to get her attention. He could tell from her expression that she saw the photo-op and knew exactly what he was going to ask.

“You want me to take your photo as half of the insignia of North Carolina?”

“Yes.”

“You gonna sit with the cornucopia or the staff?”

“I don’t have the hair to be the standing lady. You do, though.”

Almost as if on cue, the clerk came around with a smile.

“May I help you?”, she asked them.

Marcus pulled out his phone, pulling up the camera as he spoke.

“Would you take a picture for us?”

The woman, Trudy according to her name tag, nodded as she reached for the phone.

“Sure. What’s the occasion for coming to North Carolina?”

“Road trip.”, Marcus answered.

“Oh, well we’ve got a lot of local places of interest you should check out if you’ve the time. Here, let me get y’all’s picture, then we’ll swing by and get you some brochures.”

“Sure.”

Marcus assumed the position of the woman on the right-hand side of the emblem whilst Grace moved to the left-side to be the standing lady. He shot her a wink just before Trudy asked them to say ‘cheese’.

“Aw, you two look precious. You want a second one that’s with silly faces? Some people do that.”

Grace nodded her head, already moving into a position that looked like she was being blown away and using the staff to keep in place. Marcus followed suit and pretended he was being wind-whipped off the cornucopia. Trudy took their picture with a chuckle.

“Thank you, Trudy.”, Marcus teased as Trudy handed him back his camera.

“Is there anythin’ else I can help y’all with?”

“No, I think we’re good. I think I already got half of your brochures while I was looking around.”

Trudy nodded with a welcoming smile, then went back to the desk at the center of the building. Marcus turned to find Grace already admiring a carved bear holding a dogwood in one hand and a little map of the state with an X over the capitol.

“Think his name is Long John?”

“Why?”, Marcus inquired.

“Treasure map. They should give him an eye patch.”

“There’s a whole treasure trove of tourist gear we can check out, plus it looks like local craftsmen have their stuff here on consignment or something.”

“Oh, now we’re in trouble.”

They looked around for a while, picking up a couple little things from the two tables of local artists’ work, paying before they headed back out to the car. Marcus let his hand move to hold Grace’s.

“Thank you.”

She arched an eyebrow, clearly confused by his statement.

“Waking me up the way you did, taking my mind off the nightmare… suggesting we take this road trip during my convalescence, as you call it. Just… for sticking with me, even when I could only contact you once a week for a few minutes.”

Grace stopped, turning to face him. The warmth of her palm seeped straight through his cotton Tshirt and into her sternum. She was so tall, her barely had to tip his head down at all to look her straight in the eyes as she looked back.

“You were worth the wait, Marcus. And… I admit, when you were on your assignment, I spent some time daydreaming about going on this road trip you with you. In summer, so I could dare you to come out into the ocean with me. In the fall, so we could see the fall color and maybe take in some festivals. In winter, so we could get snowed in someplace or just enjoy all the beautiful, snowy views. In spring, for all the new bloom and… just us, enjoying some time together.”

Marcus moved to bump her nose with his own.

“So, you pictured us taking four road trips to see how the seasons change the views, huh?”

The way her skin lit up with pink as she blushed and looked away, made Marcus feel the butterflies he knew all too well. He had made a conscious choice to go slow this time. To let Grace have time to fall as hard as he’d already fallen. His divorce had followed a whirlwind romance, then he had thrown himself into his disastrous post-divorce relationship, which he followed up with by falling head over heels for Teresa Lisben, all because he moved too fast and was too quick to give his heart away.

“Grace?”

She looked up and Marcus smiled as he looked back into those dark eyes he loved so, so much.

“I’ve been picturing us doing things together, well into the future, myself.”

That seemed to bring a shy, happy smile to her face. He watched for a second as she began to chew on her lower lip. Marcus reached, his thumb brushing over the lower part of her lip.

“That’s my job.”

Grace snorted, laughing at him.

“Come on. We’ve got a whole state to drive through! Our adventure awaits!”, he said as he moved to take her hand again.

“Why yes, brave sir.”, she joked back.

~*~*~*~

Day two of the trip had them entering South Carolina in time for breakfast at a local eatery Marcus had read about online. Once they were done, it was back to the car and heading for a beach Grace wanted to take pictures of. Marcus switched the radio to a new channel as the one they had been listening to had gone fuzzy. When the new song began to play, he could see the grin spreading over Grace’s face.

“Know this one?”

“It was very popular when I was in junior high.”

“Uh-huh. I don’t remember this one.”

Marcus turned it up a little, hoping it would encourage Grace to sing along. She had a pleasant voice and she often sang in the car. She wouldn’t, at first, when he was in the car with her. Not until after he had overheard her humming to herself and complimented her voice, had she ventured to sing in the car with him. And even then, she had been very quiet. Now, sometimes, he could get her to actually sing as loudly as the radio played if it was a song she really liked.

“She rolls the window down, and she talks over the sound of the cars that pass us by, and I don’t know why but she’s changed my life.”, she sang along quietly, before turning a little and grinning as she grew bolder and louder when singing her own words, “Would you look at him, he looks at me! Got me thinkin’ about him constantly. And he don’t know how I feel! When he carries on without a doubt I wonder if he’s figured it out, I’m crazy for this boy! Yeah, I’m crazy for this boy.”

Hearing her confidently and happily singing along, with a wide smile, Marcus knew he would remember this morning for the rest of his days. The woman he loved, changing lyrics to better suit and singing to him as she drove them to the beach. Life didn’t get much better than that.

“And right now, face to face, all my fears pushed aside. And right now, I’m ready to spend the rest of my life, with you. Will you look at him, he looks at me. Got my thinking about him constantly and he don’t know how I feel. When he carries on without a doubt, I wonder if he’s figured it out. I’m crazy for this boy. Yeah I’m crazy for this boy.”

He applauded her and she tipped her head in lieu of bowing.

“Bravo! Encore!”

Grace snorted.

“Nah, next song is all yours.”

He chuckled.

“I can’t sing like you do.”

“Says the guy who sang back-up vocals in a band.”

“A garage band, that only got successful after I left. That doesn’t count.”

“Yes, it does.”

~*~*~*~

On day three, a storm hit unexpectedly and they were forced to seek shelter in a small hotel, a bit off the beaten path. It had good ratings from people who liked smaller, simpler places rather than Hiltons. Marcus insisted on helping get their things into the room, though the guy at the front desk ended up helping them get the last couple bags after he noticed Marcus’s sling.

Now, curled up on the queen-sized bed, pillows propped behind them, in their warm, dry, pajamas, they were relaxed. It truly felt like a vacation.

“Not how I expected today to go, but I can’t say I have any complaints.”, Marcus said.

He felt Grace stir from where she had been sitting with the back of her head resting against his stomach, her one hand draped over his right knee.

“You mean you didn’t picture rushing through the pouring, freezing cold rain from a freak storm bringing in half-frozen water and huge gusts of wind, forcing us inland to a little hotel? And us getting drenched in the slushy-rain as we unpacked, and had to huddle in our warmest PJs, under some blankets, in a cute, little hotel from the 60s?”

He shook his head, smiling.

“No. No, I really didn’t.”

He felt her chuckle as much as he heard it. Her hair had been even more wet than his when they came in, and as such, she had wrapped a towel around it before she sat with him. She hadn’t wanted to get him chilled from her cold, wet tendrils.

“Find anything on TVGuide’s site?”, he asked as he saw her scrolling through on her phone.

“Channel 119 is playing CAPTAIN BLOOD, the old one with Errol Flynn.”

“Ever seen it?”, he inquired.

“Only a million times. It was one of my grandpa’s favorite movies, so I’d watch it with him when we visited overnight. Actually… the last time I spent the night at he and my grandma’s, before my grandpa died, we stayed up till almost 2 in the morning, to watch it.”

Marcus moved his hand, wrapping it somewhat awkwardly around her lower-chest to try to hug her. To offer some comfort. For a moment, neither of them spoke, until she flipped a little further on her phone, a small chuckle coming from her lips.

“What is it?”

“You ever seen the movie PRACTICAL MAGIC?”

“Whose in it?”

“Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are sisters, Diane Weiss and Stockard Channing are their aunts.”

“Can’t say I have.”

“It’s a witchy movie. They are from this family who live on this barrier island off the East coast, and have lived there since the Pilgrams were doing their thing, and there’s a curse on the men who love them if the love is reciprocated, so Bullock’s character just wants to be normal and Kidman’s character just wants to be loved, there’s a serial killer-y dude that haunts them, there’s dancing, and it’s cool.”

“I’m guessing it’s a favorite of yours?”

She grinned up at him.

“Are you kidding? I watch this every October, sometimes I also pull it out when I just need something familiar, you know? It’s good, I think you might like it. Especially Aidan Quinn’s character.”

“Well, tune it in, woman. Come on!”

Grace grabbed the remote from where it rested between Marcus’s ankles, switching to the witchy movie. Marcus had to admit, by the second ad break, he was hooked. He was also pretty sure he loved Stockard Channing’s character best, so far.

“You have a favorite movie to watch in October?”, Grace asked as she sat up, tugging the towel out of her still-damp hair.

Marcus admired the view as her long fingers tugged out the tangles from her dark tresses. For weeks, he had been thinking of moments like this. What it would be like to enjoy them in the years to come.

“Marcus?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked if you had a favorite October movie, and you kind’ve… zoned out on me? Are you alright? Is your shoulder bothering you?”

He shook his head, smiling as he leaned forward, brushing a light kiss across her lips. He hovered close, his left hand still on her hip.

“Sorry. I was distracted by this beautiful woman taking down her hair. You know, Medieval women had to keep their hair under cover in public cause it was considered distracting to men.”

“Goliath had his strength of hair, some of us have Sexy of Hair.”, she said with a small smirk, though her eyes were still worried.

“I really am alright, Grace. You don’t have to worry so much.”

“For eleven weeks, every time my phone rang, I worried it was the call saying you’d been killed and you weren’t coming home. Then, I did get the call that you had been shot and…”, her voice waivered and she closed her eyes, taking a breath.

Marcus leaned forward, cradling her cheek in his head, rubbing the pad of his thumb over the apple of her cheek. He wanted her to open her eyes, to see him right there, alive and safe with her.

“I’m right here, Grace. I promise, I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”

Her dark eyes opened, meeting his own. A small, brave smile began to blossom on her lovely face.

“I know, I do. I just… This was the first time I got one of those calls and it scared me.”

He felt his heart constrict. This was it. This was the first fracture that would break them.

“Marcus, please look at me?”

Forcing his eyes up, he met her gaze. One of her over-warm hands moved to his right hip.

“I’m not going anywhere, I’m here. I am right here, Marcus.”

“I would understand if you wanted to break things off. Dating someone like me is asking a lot.”

“Dating the most romantic, sweetest, kindest man I’ve had the privilege to know? Yeah, that’s such hard work.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yes, but I don’t care. Marcus, I love you. Have for a while now, and… I almost lost you, I had a moment where I didn’t know how badly you were injured or if it were a little graze. Made me want to drag you back to the house, wrap you in blankets and bubble wrap, and tell everyone to leave you alone.”

He smiled, despite the rollercoaster of emotions he was experiencing. The very idea of his partner’s face if he walked in to find Grace keeping Marcus in the apartment, wrapped in quilts and bubble wrap from UPS. Harold would think she was some crazy stalker or such.

“I’m not gonna cut and run on you, Marcus. I’m not your ex-wife, I don’t think there’s someone better I can trade up for. I’m not Casey, I’m not going to cut you loose cause I can’t hack your work and what it means. And I’m certainly not Teresa who lived out a rom-com plot of getting her leading man to notice her by getting another man to fall in love with her. I am right here, knowing full well that I could get a call someday saying you aren’t coming back, and I know that would be hell but you’re worth the risk, Marcus. You are worth risking my heart for.”

He didn’t bother trying to hide the wetness in his eyes. Leaning, Marcus kissed Grace passionately, reaching to pull her closer until the movement tugged at his stitches. He hissed between his teeth only to have Grace moving. She pulled a pillow to better cradle in him in a reclined position, then she got up to throw her wet hair towel over the shower curtain, then returned to curl into Marcus’s side. Together, under the blankets, they were warm and Marcus felt his eyelids drooping a bit.

“I love you, Grace.”, he said into her hair as her head rested against the center of his chest.

Marcus felt her arm tighten around his hip.

“I’m not going anywhere, Marcus. I promise.”

“When we get back, I want to take you to a nice dinner and ask you a question. Maybe two.”

“Ask me now.”

“I want it to be romantic.”

He felt her smile through his shirt.

“I’m being held by the man I love, watching a romantic Halloween movie, while nature unleashes her fury outside, on a road-trip vacation along the beach. Marcus, if this were any more romantic, there would be pretty 80s ballad playing softly over the scene.”

That sparked a chuckle.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

One deep breath to steady his nerves, and he began with the plunge.

“Remember when you said you had considered taking this road trip in the summer, the fall, winter, and spring? And other things, in the future, with us?”

“Yeah.”

“And how you talked about sitting on a porch with me, when we’re old and gray?”

“Uh-huh. I remember.”

“Well, you’re not the only one. I’ve thought a lot about that.”

She moved, kissing his chest where her ear had been a moment ago.

“Good.”, he heard her say barely above a whisper.

“Grace, would you marry me?”

She moved, sitting up on her knees to look at him.

“I’ve got a ring, it’s neatly tucked into a jacket pocket of mine, back at my apartment. Didn’t figure I had to worry about you accidentally finding it there when you went to leave me a note for me to find later, or if you were going in to borrow a sweater. I planned on a nice table with a tablecloth, maybe a few candles, some mood music, shared meal, then I’d propose when you were expecting the dessert plate.”

Grace’s eyes were wide, a hand over her mouth. Marcus reached his good arm, his right hand tracing up and down her elbow. He couldn’t stop talking, fearing that any moment the spell would be broken and she would come to her senses.

“I have pictured growing old with you, the two of us dancing at high school reunions, going to friends’ weddings together, going on more road trips and adventures together on our downtime, museums, getting a dog, Christmases nestled in our living room with hot chocolate staring at the tree till we fall asleep in each other’s arms, waking you up with a kiss and making love to you so we both miss work sometimes, fighting over what to have for dinner, and just… a whole life together. And I get that, minus my undercover assignment, we haven’t been together a full year yet and that this is the first serious, long-term relationship you’ve been in, so I might be getting ahead of myself here to even ask you this, but Grace… I love you, more than I can describe, more than I have the words to try to explain, and I want to spend the rest of my life having moments like this with you, if you’ll have me.”

“Really?”, she squeaked out, both hands holding her mouth and chin and she looked him dead in the eyes.

“Really.”

Marcus moved to sit on his knees in a mirror of Grace’s position. He gently tugged her hands away from her face in order to hold them in his hands. Looking her right in the eyes, he took the final leap.

“Will you marry me?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t wanna think about it?”

“Have been for months now, Marcus. I’m all thought-out and ready. I want to marry you.”

They fell together, then fell over with Marcus falling out of the bed and Grace falling onto the little bathroom sink area’s floor and sliding backwards into the shower stall. Marcus struggled to get re-aligned, finally sitting up on his knees to look over the bed.

“Grace, you alright?”

He heard her chuckling.

“Yeah, you?”

“I’m good.”

Marcus could hear Grace’s snort before she crawled out of the bathroom to look over at him.

“We really fell for each other, didn’t we?”

He looked at her, seeing the smile tugging at her cheeks as she awaited his response. Marcus barked with laughter, leaning on the side of the bed for support while Grace let herself fall over onto her side, laughing just as hard. If 40 plus years of this is what he could look forward to, Marcus couldn’t wait to get started.


End file.
